The gravy-train has derailed……..

25 June 2014, 07:44

The hope that local industries would benefit from the billions of rands contract for the new locomotives for Transnet is disappearing rapidly in that the big Chinese locomotive manufacturers/builders of the locomotives, can’t find the supposed local suppliers of the parts that is needed.

And in certain instances where they reckon that they have identified the local suppliers, the South African firms do not manufacture the train parts in the normal run of their business.

China South Rail (CSR) was awarded the Transnet tender to manufacture a third of the 1059 new locomotives, yet three months after they were awarded the contract, still do not know from which South African suppliers they would be procuring the parts as required in terms of the contract.

The initial Transnet tender specifies that 60% of the new electric locomotives and 55% of the diesel locomotives parts have to be procured from local suppliers.

Internal memorandum between the Chinese and their local empowerment partner, the Matsede Basadi-consortium shows that only 22 of the possible 300 locomotive parts and components would be available from South African suppliers. The document indicates 19 possible suppliers that would provide or would be able to provide the 22 spares (parts) but:

· Only 2 of them have been asked to tender;

· Two of the 19 businesses do not exist;;

· Four of the businesses do not manufacture the parts for which they are listed as suppliers.

Furthermore, JA Plant of Kempton Park would according to the document, provide safety interlocking parts but the business is in concrete products, and do not manufacture or supply safety interlocking parts.

Possible suppliers listed for engine room lamps, Wagies Akllie of MSA say they also do not manufacture safety interlocking parts, that they are listed as supplier in the contract.

It appears that a number of these 19 companies were just randomly selected from the internet. Most of them feel that they and their companies have been grossly abused and exploited.

Their names have been used fraudulently and without permission for own personal; financial gain.

Interid is listed as the company that would be supplying close circuit Television cameras for the locomotives, but the company for not knows anything about this.

Boltfast that is listed as supplying bolts for the locomotive confirms that they never tendered for it, and that the entire idea of parts being supplied by South African companies, will ultimately involve importing the parts from China.

The contract for the 1064 locomotives was awarded to four main tenderers, each with its own local empowerment partner

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